Answers: Thedal Quiz – 4

Thanks again for your active participation in our fourth quiz featuring vehicles (‘vaahanaas’). We had good amount of responses this time also. We thank you for your active participation. Again this time, we don’t have anyone who has got all right answers.

Here are some of the readers who got the maximum right answers:

Ramasamy and Soumya.

Many congratulations!

Here are the answers to the questions:

1. As per Purana which incarnation of Lord Vishnu helped steady the ship during the great deluge (pralaya) ?

Matsya Avatara. It is the first incarnation of the ten principal incarnations of Lord Vishnu. As per Rig Veda, the Lord took the form of a fish and rescued Vaivasvatha Manu and all the lifeforms from the great deluge when they took refuge in a ship.

2. How many horses are there in Surya’s chariot?

Seven. The seven horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit (Gayatri, Brihati, Ushni, Jagati, Trishtubh, Anushtubh and Pankthi). Co-incidentally enough, when sunlight passes through a prism, it forms 7 colors.

3. To whom was the flying chariot (Pushpaka Vimana) of Ravana originally belong to?

Kubera. It was made by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma for Brahma who gave it to Kubera, the God of wealth. It was later stolen by his half-brother, king Ravana.

4. What is the vehicle of Lord Brahma ?

Swan (‘Hamsa’)

5. As per Mahabharatha, who carried the palanquin of King Nahusha when he replaced Indra temporarily as the King of Gods?

The seven great sages (‘Saptharishis‘). Due to killing a Brahman, Indra once lost his capacity to rule the Gods for a temporary period. Nahusha being the most qualified one, ascended the throne. Upon being the King, he became proud and coveted Indra’s wife. She, along with Indra devised a plan to bring about his downfall. She made Nahusha come to her palace in a palanquin carried by ‘Saptharishis’. In his haste to meet her, Nahusha kicked Sage Agasthya asking him to ‘hurry’. Agasthya became angry and cursed him to be a snake. He got his redemption in Dwaapara Yuga at the time of Mahabharatha.

6. The crow is the vaahana of which God?

Lord Shani.

7. Which Vaishnavite Azhwar was carried on his shoulders by a sage into Srirangam temple and hence got the name muni-vahana?

Thiruppaanazhwaar. Sage Lokasaaranga was ordered by the Lord himself to invite Thiruppaanazhwar inside the temple. When the Azhwar felt his feet should not touch the temple, the sage carried him on his shoulders into Srirangam Temple. The Azhwar then sang ‘Amalan Aadhipiraan’ and attained Moksha.

8. Which famous Vaishnavite temple is famous for its Stone Garuda who at the time of procession is carried just by 4 people but the weight increases exponentially until 128 people are required to carry the idol outside?

Thirunarayur Nambi temple (‘Nachiyaar Koil’). During the months of Margazhi (December–January) and Panguni (March – April), the temple deities are mounted on the stone Garuda (‘Kal Garudar’). While only four people are needed to carry the idol of Garuda out of the shrine, the count steadily increases to 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 people when the deity is taken outside the temple. Similarly on the way back, only 4 people are required to carry the load in the decreasing order 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4.

9. The word Juggernaut meaning ‘unstoppable force’ is based on which city’s annual festival?

Puri Jagannath Temple. The word was inspired by the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Odisha (Orissa), which has the Ratha Yatra (“chariot procession”), carrying the idols of Lord Krishna (Jagannatha), Balarama and Subadhra.

10. Asia’s largest chariot and is also a model for Valluvar Kottam in Chennai?

Thiruvaarur Ther (Chariot). This chariot is said to be the biggest one of its kind. It is 96 feet (29 m) tall and weighs more than 300 tons. It is a beautiful structure with intricate work and was used as the model for the famous Chennai Landmark, Valluvar Kottam.

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